God's command
Authors
On May 27, 1946, True Father received heaven's command to go to the North and immediately set out for Pyongyang. At the time, Pyongyang was occupied by the Soviet Army which had set up communist rule there. True Father arrived on June 6. Pyongyang was known as the Jerusalem of the East and as the hub of Christian faith in Korea. Even so, the church had suffered greatly and people aspired to rebuild it.
After arriving, True Father stayed in Gyeongchang-ri and worked from there to spread his message. Father stayed at the home of a devout person with whom he had developed a close bond while at the Israel Monastery.
1. There will come a time when the representative with the internal mission and the representative with the external mission will encounter each other. In other words, at the summit of the 6,000 years of biblical history, Cain and Abel will meet each other once again at the summit.
There, restoration through indemnity must be fulfilled. When Cain accepts the heavenly teaching and establishes the standard of following Abel, they can unite and go over the hill of indemnity together. When Abel and Cain go over this hill, each goes to the other's position. This is what was supposed to happen, but only Abel was able to go over the hill.
Originally, when I started my public course, it was God's Will that I walked hand in hand with the President.
Syngman Rhee. From the providential perspective, it could have happened, but due to opposition from Christian quarters at that time, things went wrong. Because this route of taking the high-level course to accomplish the providential will was lost, I had to go down and begin a course at a lower level. Once I had to go down, it had to be to the lowest position. That was why at that point I had to go immediately to North Korea and begin again from there. (016-058, 1965/12/26)
2. When I started my public course, I asked myself if I was prepared to give my life. I even wondered in what manner I would die. I imagined that I would be executed by firing squad, or that each of my limbs would be chained to an oxcart and my body torn to pieces. I also thought of what kind of words I would leave behind at my death. I did not think of how to survive.
Since I was shouldering something so substantial as the providence, centered on the Republic of Korea, I was ready to face death. I had to go to the front line, the stronghold of the enemy. The foundation of Christianity in South Korea had fallen to Satan. Therefore, I went to North Korea, to Satan's den, to restore that foundation.
(034-048, 1970/08/29)
3. Since I would eventually have to fight against global communism, I went to North Korea. I went prepared to be handcuffed and imprisoned. I never succumbed to any of the cruel ordeals I was put through. I never lost my dignity as God's representative, even when suffering from extreme hunger. I never violated heavenly law even during the most brutally impoverished circumstances, even when I underwent regimented prison life.
Even while under such restrictions, I was able to restore what had to be restored. Furthermore, I was able to create the base to make a new start in the presence of God and to find new motivation for my life. I started my mission without thinking of my survival, but rather, being willing to die. (034-048, 1970/08/29)
4. After Jesus was opposed and rejected by his people and religion, he was exalted and honored by pagan peoples who believed in pagan religions. Likewise, I had to take the same course. I had to restore an enemy country. Everyone in North Korea was an enemy. The whole country was an enemy.
Everywhere I went was full of enemies. Not only did the government and churches try to knock me down, the people did as well. How could I survive there? If I had fought back, I would have perished, so I was obliged to sacrifice myself and serve. My strategy was to pray for their fortune even though they struck me ten times and scorned me thousands of times. I practiced such a strategy. Even though I was wronged thousands of times, God loves these people and has been patiently enduring with them, so I had to do likewise. (037-051, 1970/12/22)
5. I was on my own. I was completely by myself. Although I tried to establish a foundation with the Christian churches, I was rejected. I received opposition on a scale larger than ever I could have imagined. Fallen human history started with an elder brother striking a younger brother. Accepting the direction of a younger brother is very difficult to do if you do not truly understand and believe in God. It is hard because the traditional teachings and customs of your environment are already a part of you.
That is why I was in the position to be opposed by the Christian churches, and my older brothers.
Like Jesus, I had been rejected. I had to inherit Jesus' course in a very real way. Therefore, I had no choice but to go through that course of indemnity. I have been fighting to indemnify 2,000 years of history in only 20 years. To accomplish this, I went into Satan's stronghold, into North Korea, into the communist den which is Satan's world. (035-175, 1970/10/13)
Building a following
After arriving in Pyongyang on June 6, 1946, True Father took a room in Gyeongchang-ri and began his church work with prayer and devotion. At the time in Pyongyang, there were still many Christian churches and devout Christian believers. Though many of them looked at True Father with unfriendly glares, he still sought new followers with the conviction that he would convey the Word to save even one life. Many times he looked out of the door with anticipation as he waited for these new church members to come.
Some people found they the the way to where the to Father was, and later they brought other Christian believers to him. True Father held church services for those people. In particular, after True Father's arrival, some people began receiving revelations about him.
These devout believers found him through the guidance of those in the spirit world. Many of those who came had been long prepared for the coming of True Father, and among them were people who had been prepared to receive True Father even before he was born.
The spirit world transcends time and space, and the connections of the world of the heart are linked in mysterious and profound ways. The people who had thus become connected to True Father were so overwhelmed by true love that when they so much as touched the hem of his clothes, they felt as if they were floating on air and could dance for sheer joy. True Father stayed up nights talking to whoever, came to see him, whether old or young.
6. The three years following Korea's liberation were a period of chaos. There was chaos within Christianity, the political world, and in every other area of Korean society. Everything was in flux. Within Christianity, there was no thought about whether the Messiah would return and no understanding of God's Will.
At that time, many new churches arose, including the Jaegeon Christian group and the Koryupa Church. All were competing over who had the truth. I had to step forward and build relationships with these churches, but their belief that the Lord would return riding on the clouds was an obstacle.
No one believed that the Lord would return as a human being except a few groups, such as those led by Rev. Heo Ho-bin, Rev. Kim Seong-do, and Rev. Baek Nam-ju, who already knew that he would come in the flesh. These were the groups that were prepared for the Completed Testament.
They knew the Lord would come as a human being, but they had not had the opportunity to meet him in person. Even if they had met the Lord, he would not have looked like the Messiah to them. That was a challenge to them, and I could not tell them who I was directly. They had to be pushed into a corner and figure it out for themselves.
Both spiritual and non-spiritual people have to do that. Spiritual people do not move an inch without instructions from the spirit world. On the other hand, people who are not spiritual can move forward by understanding the Word. It was a confusing situation.
Mainstream Christians were saying that the Lord would come on the clouds. The ones who said that he would come in the flesh were being put down as members of sects. The non-spiritual people could not easily believe either. This became a problem.
I gathered the smartest people from 40 Christian churches in Pyongyang. In those days, I had to teach them with the words of the Bible; no other materials would do. The spirit world worked to connect people to me. God prepared these spiritual people in advance and sent them to me. (223-215, 1991/11/10)
7. Satan's efforts bore down on me constantly when I was in Pyongyang. But even in the midst of this, I always prayed for the members. I would offer a prayer for someone in the morning, and then wait to see whether they would come or not. As expected, they came without fail. When you pray during such Holy Spirit experiences, you will learn how valuable and effective prayer is. Then your work becomes fun, and you gain the conviction that God is always with you.
(042-161, 1971/03/04)
8. No one can rival me when it comes to the Bible. I was 26 years old when I went to North Korea. I was an enthusiastic young man. At the time, there were big churches in Pyongyang, which was known as the Jerusalem of the East. All the intelligent members of those churches were enthralled by me. When I taught the Bible, such as Paul's Letter to the Romans or the Book of Revelation, they were astonished at my explanations. If they were still alive today, they would say to me, “You understand the thousands of years of history in the Bible. How could you know it so accurately?” (227-245, 1992/02/14)
9. When I was in Pyongyang, North Korea, I met a woman who was more than 30 years older than I was.
She said to me, “I am here with you today because of the guidance of the spirit world,” and then she said,
“It is strange.” I asked her, “What is so strange?” She said, “This is impossible. This is so strange,” and she shook her head. I asked her again, “What is so strange?” She answered, “This is so puzzling for me.
You guided me when I was 24 years old.” In other words, she said that she had received guidance from me even before I was born.
You cannot understand such a phenomenon by just looking from a physical perspective. But looking at it from the spiritual dimension because God is the vertical Parent, anyone who seeks the heart of the True Father will be with God always. Therefore, although I appear with a shape and body now, in terms of the world of heart, it is the same in the past or the present.
Because God reigns over the world of heart, that woman had met me, even though it would be many years before I would come. Thus, we say that the spirit world transcends time. It is possible because of the connections that are made within the realm of the heart.
Suppose that within God's heart, He has an idea that such and such a man will be born at a certain time in the future. Then, through that heart, God can teach someone about that man and create a connection between them. This is possible because we relate through the world of heart. (063-306, 1972/10/15)
10. How much do you think God had to prepare before I went to evangelize in Pyongyang? There was another woman I met there whom God had told 20 years earlier that she would meet me at someone's house and hear God's Word from me.
I was 26 years old when I went to North Korea. God told her this when I was only seven years old. I certainly did not know that woman, or that she had received such a message. How on earth could people believe such a story?
While I was in Pyongyang, quite a few people shared that sort of testimony. They had the mission to testify to me from the position of the archangel. From the perspective of the Principle, before I came to earth, there had to be people who were even more prepared than I was. Even several centuries before my coming, the spirits who would attend me in the future had to cooperate with people on Earth to establish the foundation for me to deal with Satan's world.
(025-343, 1969/10/12)
11. My Grandfathers and grandmothers are fond of me. There were 80-year-old grandmothers who, guided by the spirit world, came to see me when I was in Pyongyang. Why would they come to see me, walking with their canes? Those grandmothers who came to me under the guidance of the spirit world were so happy even to touch the hem of my garment.
When they went back home they spontaneously danced with joy. After touching the hem of my garment, they felt like they were soaring through the sky. They were so overjoyed, dancing all day long, that they even forgot to eat. How could that be? I did not use any magic.
When we taste the atmosphere of true love, we become this way. We become happy without apparent reason. We are happy to give and keep giving. We are joyful even when people curse at us. We are happy, no matter how hard we have to work.
(121-208, 1982/10/27)
12. Nobody witnessed Grandmother Ok Sae-hyeon. When she asked in prayer how the Messiah would come, God told her that he would come in the flesh, not on the clouds. That is what God told her.
She believed this, regardless of who opposed her. In her prayers, she asked, “When will the Messiah come?” and, “Where will he come?” Then God said, “He is in Pyongyang now. He is hiding in a room in Gyeongchang-ri.” Since I was hidden away there, and no rumors had yet circulated about where I was, she could not find me. This was during the time that I was pioneering in Gyeongchang-ri. (141-048, 1986/02/16)
13. When I was in Pyongyang, an elderly lady came to visit me. I was 26 and she was over 70. She had received God's grace while worshiping at the churches of Rev. Gil Seon-ju and Rev. Yi Yong-do, and she performed great spiritual works the likes of which no one else could do. She used to offer prayers at Moranbong in Pyongyang. She received the revelation that in the future Japan would try to eliminate Christianity in Korea and that she should prepare herself for that time.
She used to pray there at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. Although her husband opposed her, she fended off all opposition and continued her prayers for many years. She knew that Korea would become the chosen nation. She taught the women of Pyongyang about the new world that awaited them in the future and that a joyous and prosperous era would begin soon in Korea.
It is because of the existence of people such as her who prayed in this manner that God's work for the Will could be maintained. The Lord must not be alone when he comes, only to be chased and cornered and die with no one at his side. Because there were such women on earth who offered their lives, praying to God and relating to His Will, the foundation of God's providence of restoration could be sustained on earth. (023-271, 1969/06/08)
14. I went to Pyongyang at the age of 26 and caused quite a commotion. When I was in Seoul, the same thing happened. When I would go to a village, the people in the village were willing to stay up all night at my home, talking. So I became the object of much debate.
Even the village children would come and pee in the toilet that belonged to the house where I was staying.
Why? I told them interesting stories and folktales. My stories were so entertaining that the children would forget about eating. We had fun playing games together, and I invented dozens of games every day. While playing with them, I asked them, “Where are your mom and dad?”
After finding out about their parents' situation, I would keep playing with them. After playing at my house until late, the children would become tired and fall asleep. Then I would visit their homes and witness to their parents.
What a wonderful way to witness! Since the children had fallen asleep after playing until late, I would carry them on my back to their mom and dad. What parent isn't grateful to someone who has just brought their child home on his back? They would invite me in for a cup of tea. That is how I witnessed it.
(095-234, 1977/12/04)
15. When I was living in a boardinghouse in Pyongyang, I offered bows to a three-year-old boy. I attended him like I attended heaven. It says in the Bible that unless you become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. I honored him above myself to such a degree that he asked me in tears to stop. I recited poems, sang songs, and praised him as God's son, even using honorific language. Having done that, I was recognized by God and the child praised me.
Since the Human Fall reversed the original order of above and below in heaven and on earth, I had to set the order straight through such actions, which is the path of restoration. After I established such a reciprocal base by which others could receive me with a joyful heart, only then could I stand in the position of their teacher. (060-203, 1972/08/17)
The Daedong Detention Center
When Father's church in Pyongyang became filled with spiritual phenomena, many devout Christians stopped attending their Father's churches and instead went only to where True Father was. Subsequently, their church pastors and elders came to True Father's, place and became hostile, sometimes even kidnapping their church members.
When things did not turn out as they had hoped, these ministers eventually reported True Father to the communist authorities, saying that he was a suspicious fellow from South Korea who held illegal meetings. That is why he was confined to the Daedong Detention Center on August 11, 1946.
Yet, even under such dire circumstances, he welcomed his imprisonment, for he knew that in the detention center, Father's he was going to meet the founder of a spiritual church. Rev. Heo Ho-bin, the founder of the Inside the Womb Church, and her principal followers were imprisoned there at that time.
Because Rev. Heo was a woman, she was placed in a separate prison cell from True Father. But Father was in the same cell as one of her male followers, and Father was able to share many words with that man.
At that time, members of the Inside the Womb Church believed that the Lord was in Rev. Heo's womb, and she led her followers with spirit-filled words that came to her whenever her belly contracted. True Father told Rev. Heo's follower that she should deny her revelations and be released from prison, but this cellmate did not believe True Father'many similar group words.
Therefore, as a last resort, True Father secretly sent a note to Rev. Heo. She then stood in the position of having to choose either to believe True Father's words or not to believe. Because she had never met him, she deemed it her duty to the Lord she was serving to keep true to her revelations rather than trust the words of True Father, so she discarded Father's note.
If she had known that True Father was the Messiah, she would have treasured his words.
Because she thought his note was worthless, she threw it away without a second thought. The note was then discovered by the authorities, and True Father was severely tortured, eventually cast out of the detention center, and left on the street on the verge of death.
The members of Gyeongchang-ri Church brought True Father to the church and nursed him back to health with utter devotion. Thanks to them, True Father regained his health, but Rev. Heo Ho-bin and her principal followers later died in prison or suffered other wretched circumstances.
16. The Communist Party began to suppress all the new religious groups throughout North Korea beginning in June 1946. Any similar group was treated the same way. At that time, I was pioneering in Gyeongchang-ri, Pyongyang. Why did I go from South Korea to North Korea? It was because at the time Pyongyang was the center of Korean Christianity.
It was where Korean Christians had fought throughout history to keep their faith. I went to North Korea to fulfill my mission to make a new beginning on the foundation that heaven had prepared. On August 11, 1946, while pioneering, I was arrested by the communists and imprisoned at the Daedong Detention Center. (024-192, 1969/08/10)
17. In 1946, I was caught by the Communist Party and imprisoned at Daedong Detention Center. This was after Korea's liberation from Japan, and Christians were rebuilding their churches and making a new start in Pyongyang to accomplish Christianity's historical mission. I went into this environment and worked to build a new movement. In those days, the movement to rebuild churches and reform people's faith was in full swing.
Korea's Christians were filled with Joy and new hope after the liberation of Korea from the Japanese occupation, which for many years had caused extreme suffering, hardships, and sorrow for Christian believers. It was there where the zeal for building new churches was spreading like wildfire, that I started the Gyeongchang-ri Church.
Once I started it, leaders from those Christian congregations, as well as those who received spiritual guidance, came to my services instead of attending their churches, which became a problem. In those days, I was laying the foundation to begin my church by witnessing in Gyeongchang-ri, close to the west gate.
(024-187, 1969/08/10)
18. When I was imprisoned, one of the things the communists accused me of was that I was connected to the church of Rev. Heo Ho-Bin. In the prison, I managed to pass a slip of paper to her that read, “The person who wrote this has a heavenly mission. You must find out who he is through your prayer.
If, in front of the communists, you deny the revelations you have received, you will be released from prison.” But she did not believe this, and the paper was discovered by a prison guard. That was at 2:00 p.m. on September 18, 1946, and for that reason, I was subjected to severe torture.
An investigator from the Soviet Union interrogated me to find out if I was a spy for the US troops in South Korea, an offense for which I had been charged. He determined that I was not guilty, and I was released on the afternoon of November 21, 1946. Rev. Heo and her followers did not listen to me. She was executed, and during the Korean War, her followers were all massacred. Due to the failure of that group, I needed to find other followers. I worked until I could gain a certain number of members as a condition. (052-154, 1971/12/27)
Sun Myung Moon